Isaiah 1:17

Isaiah 1:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
• New International Version (NIV)Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
• English Standard Version (ESV)learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.

Context of Isaiah 1:17

15When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen, for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims. 16Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. 18“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool. 19If you will only obey me, you will have plenty to eat.

Isaiah 1:17 word by word

לִמְד֥וּ הֵיטֵ֛ב דִּרְשׁ֥וּ מִשְׁפָּ֖ט אַשְּׁר֣וּ חָמ֑וֹץ שִׁפְט֣וּ יָת֔וֹם רִ֖יבוּ אַלְמָנָֽה׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Learnלָמַדlâmad · to learn: learnH3925
• to do wellיָטַבyâţab · be goodH3190
• seekדָּרַשׁdârash · to seekH1875
• judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
• relieveאָשַׁר'âshar 'âshêr · to blessH833
• the oppressedחָמוֹץchâmôts · the ruthlessH2541
• judgeשָׁפַטshâphaţ · to judgeH8199
• the fatherlessיָתוֹםyâthôm · orphanH3490
• pleadרִיבrîyb rûb · to contendH7378
• for the widowאַלְמָנָה'almânâh · widowH490

Cross-references for Isaiah 1:17

• Isaiah 1:23Your leaders are rebels, the companions of thieves. All of them love bribes and demand payoffs, but they refuse to defend the cause of orphans or fight for the rights of widows.
• Psalms 82:3“Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.
• Proverbs 31:9Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.
• Jeremiah 22:3This is what the Lord says: Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop murdering the innocent!
• Daniel 4:27“‘King Nebuchadnezzar, please accept my advice. Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor. Perhaps then you will continue to prosper.’
• Micah 6:8No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
• Zephaniah 2:3Seek the Lord, all who are humble, and follow his commands. Seek to do what is right and to live humbly. Perhaps even yet the Lord will protect you— protect you from his anger on that day of destruction.
• Zechariah 7:9“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another.
• Zechariah 8:16But this is what you must do: Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts in your courts that are just and that lead to peace.

Commentaries on Isaiah 1:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Relieve the oppressed "Amend that which is corrupted" - חמוץ אשרו asheru chamots . In rendering this obscure phrase I follow Bochart, (Hieroz. Part i., lib. ii., cap. 7), though I am not perfectly satisfied with this explication of it.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Learn to do well - , To learn here is to become accustomed to, to practice it. To do well stands opposed to all kinds of evil. “Seek judgment.” The word “judgment” - משׁפט mishpâṭ - here means justice. The direction refers particularly to magistrates, and it is evident that the prophet had them particularly in his view in all this discourse. Execute justice between man and man with impartiality. The word “seek” - דרשׁוּ dı̂reshû - means to pursue, to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-20Verses 16-20 Not only feel sorrow for the sin committed, but break off the practice. We must be doing, not stand idle. We must be doing the good the Lord our God requires. It is plain that the sacrifices of the law could not atone, even for outward national crimes. But, blessed be God, there is a Fountain opened, in which sinners of every age and rank may be cleansed. Though our sins have been as scarlet and crimson, a deep dye, a double dye, first in the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17Seeking justice means following God's standards of fairness and supporting the rights of the oppressed, orphans, and widows—those who are weak and marginalized in society (see also Jeremiah 7:5–7; 22:3; Zechariah 7:10; Matthew 23:23; 25:31–46; James 1:27).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. seek judgment--justice, as magistrates, instead of seeking bribes (Jr 22:3, 16). judge--vindicate (Psa 68:5; Jas 1:27).Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 1:17

• Church
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Justice
• Oppression
• Ordinance
• Orphan
• Poor
• Regeneration
• Reward
• Widow

In the dictionaries

• Convert
• Crib
• Eat
• Fade
• Harlot
• Isaiah, The Book of
• Judgment
• Oblation
• Owner
• Purely

Commentaries on Isaiah 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings